The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : A message of courage and hard work for students

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Friday, Apr 04, 2008
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

A message of courage and hard work for students

Staff Reporter

SEETHANAGARAM (Guntur District): Good people must come into politics; former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam told school students when only one of them reluctantly expressed his will to become a politician. His message was to have courage to think different, invent, travel far and wide, go into unexplored path; combat the evil and work hard to achieve the goal you set for yourself.

At an interactive session with school students at the Vivekananda Vidya Vihar, run by Sri Ramakrishna Mission, here on Thursday, the former president received an affectionate welcome from children by clapping from the time he entered the school premises till he sat on the dais.

During his message to the students, he questioned them as to what they wanted to become when they grew up and wanted them to raise hands with majority of them expressing desire to become a police officer or engineer followed by doctor and District Collector.

Ironically only one student reluctantly raised his hand when Mr. Kalam repeated asked if none wanted to become a politician. Curious to know why he wanted to become a politician, a microphone was passed on to the student to let him answer the question and he said he wanted to provide shelter to the poor people by becoming a politician.

He even went to the extent of asking in Telugu by saying ‘Telugulo Cheppandi’, which brought laughter and claps among audience.

“People with Righteousness in the heart must come into politics, you can also come into politics and only then society can be governed properly,” is how Mr. Kalam put it.

District Collector B. Venkatesham and Superintendent of Police Mahesh Chandra Laddha accompanied the former President from the Prakasam Barrage on his arrival from Vijayawada.

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